Non-volatile memory development gathers steam

November was a busy month for next- generation non-volatile memory development. A common thread was the hybrid nature of memory solutions in the absence of elusive universal memory.

November was a rather busy month in the development of non-volatile memory (NVM). A common thread within two announcements that will be considered here is the hybrid nature of memory solutions in the absence of the long elusive universal memory. The announcements might also suggest more modest goals for emerging memory, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

There is plenty of opportunity to advance system performance in the absence of a universal memory. It is the latter of the announcements though that really brought home the notion that the comings and goings in NVM development. It has begun to look like an elaborate game of corporate musical chairs. Before the music starts, let's take a look at the technology.

In mid-November, Everspin announced the sampling of their first Spin-Torque (ST) MRAM.

MRAM was of course one of the original three technologies touted as a candidate for the “Universal Memory”. While the 64 Mb density for this device is somewhat modest it should certainly be sufficient to service non-universal applications. The Press Release in fact mentioned use of MRAM as a cache or buffer in solid state drives or RAID storage systems.

Such an application was also being considered for FRAM, but it is unclear if FRAM can be produced at sufficient density. One common thread to come out of MRAM’s and FRAM’s recent histories is a focus on these non-universal applications that access specific properties of the memory to overcome or mitigate weaknesses in the performance of more traditional memories. Solid-state drive (SSD) cache is probably a good example of this.

Moving on to the second announcement, Micron announced it will be collaborating with AgigA on the development of non-volatile DIMM technology.

Very briefly, the release describes a “hybrid non-volatile RAM technology” that pairs DRAM and FLASH. In the case of power loss, an ultracapacitor provides power long enough for the data in the DRAM to be written to the FLASH. It is further noted that Micron will offer an NVDIMM to pair with an AgigA power module to “provide a complete NVDIMM solution”.

At the moment that is enough about the technology. What I found more interesting was the fact that AgigA is a subsidiary of Cypress. The mental wheels started turning and the music started playing.

Hold on a minute, I am not sure where to start.

Cypress is nearing the completion of its acquisition of Ramtron, which of course continues to develop FRAM. It was back in 2008 that Cypress acquired Simtek and their nvSRAM technology.

What about Micron? They formed a relationship with Unity and their CMOx technology in 2011. Unity though was acquired by Rambus in February of this year.

Micron on the other hand acquired Numonyx and their PCM technology in February 2010. Going further back Numonyx was spun out of Intel in April 2008.

So, to say there is a bit of back and forth on the corporate side of NVM is an understatement. All of these movements are plotted in the Figure above.

In this schematic, a company is depicted inside another if it is owned by or a subsidiary of the larger entity. If a company is shown adjacent to a larger entity there is some sort of working relationship, perhaps a collaboration, or maybe a development agreement.

We will just have to wait and see who is the last one sitting when the music stops.

I like the bubble diagram for this, but you need to add the Koreans and Japenese.
Different eras with major players would be useful in this context with industry breakthroughs and who emerged, aquired...

Paul:
FeRAM- should be made with SrBiTaO not PZT. Panasonic sold more than 500 million units
Ramtron stuck to PZT and IBM could not qualify.
High density FeRAM, no. Not below 130 nm because nickel Silicide being the high density metallization cannot take 750 C anneal of 3 minutes.
ReRAM- as long as there is the junk science of filaments, iy is a dog. Look at may first 2011 issue of JAP. I have 3 papers showing not to make NiO with filaments. At IEDM, not one paper referenced this work.
It is amazing!
Carlos Araujo

Thanks. For sure there is much more going on out there in NVM. The article is really a look at a small slice of this activity, resulting from the Micron/AgigA Press Release crossing my desk. "Last one sitting" ... at writing I was thinking of which relationships hold within this small slice. Finally, I have often found "niche" can be viewed from different angles. A while back I wrote a piece for EETimes that looked at MRAM, PRAM and FRAM. The first two were getting all the attention while FRAM was quietly generating revenue. In the end there is a much bigger discussion here. Paul

Paul-Last one standing? Ignoring niche market applications, the simple answer to your question is the technology that scales lithographically, with of course the need to be competitive in price, performance and reliability with alternative design/device solutions.
I wonder why you did not include Samsung on your diagram, or even the IBM-Hynix PCM tie up, which appears to be focusing on the annular electrode structures as the saving grace for PCM.

Thanks for the interest Kris. Next-generation NVM is fascinating because of the new technical ground for sure. It did strike me though that there is also quite a bit of jockeying on the corporate side. Paul